1. The Field of the Invention
The present application relates to the field of manufacturing optical components. More particularly, the present invention relates to devices and methods for aligning a laser header subassembly to a lens housing.
2. The Relevant Technology
Computer and data communications networks continue to develop and expand due to declining costs, improved performance of computer and networking equipment, the remarkable growth of the internet, and the resulting increased demand for communication bandwidth. Such increased demand is occurring both within and between metropolitan areas as well as within communications networks. Moreover, as organizations have recognized the economic benefits of using communications networks, network applications such as electronic mail, voice and data transfer, host access, and shared and distributed databases are increasingly used as a means to increase user productivity. This increased demand, together with the growing number of distributed computing resources, has resulted in a rapid expansion of the number of fiber optic systems required.
Through fiber optics, digital data in the form of light signals is formed by lasers or light emitting diodes and then propagated through a fiber optic cable. Such light signals allow for high data transmission rates and high bandwidth capabilities. One method of coupling the light signals from the laser into the optical fiber is a lens which collimates or focuses the light signal (which exits the optical fiber in a divergent pattern) into the optical fiber. The lens must be aligned, however, with the laser to ensure that the optical axis of the fiber is properly aligned with the focal point of the lens.
In addition, the relative spacing between the lens and the laser affects the power of the optical signal. If the focal point of the light exiting the lens is not at the desired point as it is launched into an optical fiber, the optical power of the signal as it is launched into the fiber, and ultimately as it is received at the far end of the optical fiber, will not be within the design specifications. This is particularly important because detectors in optical systems are configured to decode optical signals based in part on the power of the signals. Hence, if the power of and optical signal launched into an optical fiber is not within design specifications because of misalignment between the lens and the laser, the signal may be misread by detectors elsewhere in the optical system.
Optical devices often incorporate the lasers and lenses into a single device, such as a laser package subassembly. However, properly aligning lens and laser in each of the X, Y, and Z directions can be a time consuming manual process with a lower than desired yield. Accordingly, what is needed are systems and methods to more quickly and accurately align components in laser package subassemblies.